Is Bella from Twilight a Mary Sue?
While prepping for Marcon, I found myself embroiled in a debate with another panelist who stated that the Twilight books are the most successful Mary Sue fan fiction ever published. I responded (diplomatically) that the most successful Mary Sue fan fiction ever published is Superman, and that the trope of Mary Sue hunting might be rooted in a sexist culture that values the heroism of men over the heroism of women. Here is a summary of her arguments:
1) The term Mary Sue is not sexist because there is a male term for the same concept: Gary Stu.
2) Superman is not a Gary Stu because he's modeled on Jesus.
3) There are no similarities between Bella and Harry Potter, with the implication that Harry Potter is not a Gary Stu.
4) Bella doesn't actually save anyone.
5) Bella is a Mary Sue because a) she's the most popular girl in school and all the boys want her and b) when she becomes a vampire she's the most powerful vampire of all.
I'm eliminating her words out of respect for her privacy, but wanted to show the other side of the argument before presenting mine (and because I'm too lazy to actually create an essay out of an e-mail exchange):
SPOILERS FOR TWILIGHT SERIES
I've heard of Gary and Marty Stu, but unlike Mary Sue, I've never seen
it applied. While I've seen a great many female characters labeled
Mary Sues, I've never seen a male character actually be called a Gary
Stu....
I agree that there are parallels between Superman and Jesus; that's
why I think he's a Mary (or Gary) Stu. He's the last son of a dying
planet; is more powerful than anyone on Earth, and is a truly perfect
person without flaws in every incarnation I've ever seen with the
exception of "Smallville." And even in Smallville you have the trope
of everyone being in love with him - so he's a more or less flawless
being with powers greater than any other and so desirable few women
don't fall for him; in other words, he possesses the exact same
qualities that would get a female character labeled "Mary Sue." If
Kali-El had been the last daughter of Krypton who was found by
Jonathan and Martha Kent, and had all of Superman's powers and all of
his morals, and as Superwoman accomplished everything Superman did,
and was beloved of intrepid reporter Larry Lane, would the franchise
have been as successful? How would you have felt about that
character? ...
Harry Potter was a social outcast who discovers he's a wizard and now
has all these cool new superpowers, inherits a huge amount of money,
becomes the most popular kid in the school, is naturally the best
Quidditch player ever, is the subject of the most important prophesy
of the age, and all the girls fall in love with him. If you were to
replace Harry with Harriet and change the pronouns, would this
character be considered a Mary Sue?...
Here's where I see her as savior: Book 1 - when Bella exchanges
herself for her mother. Yes, it was the sort of trap that caught
Buffy every other month, but as James pointed out, Bella already knew
that James could grab Renee any time he wanted to, and now he
wouldn't. Book 2 - Bella races to Italy to rescue Edward. It's an
inversion of the hero riding to the rescue of the damsel tied to the
train tracks. Here, Bella is the white hat and Edward is the damsel
in distress. Book 3 - During the duel between Edward and Victoria,
Bella sees that Edward can't win. She cleverly uses her human ability
to bleed, normally seen as a weakness, to keep Victoria from killing
Edward. Book 4 - in the final confrontation with the Volturi. The
Volturi managed to maintain control over the vampires for three
reasons: a) they were seen as just; b) superior numbers; and c) Jane.
The Cullens managed to convince a large number of vampires that the
Volturi behaved unjustly and were able to rally an army equal in
number to that of the Volturi, but the problem of Jane remained.
Bella was not only able to protect the other vampires from Jane, but
being the stronger vampire planned to take Jane out (and to die in the
attempt.) The Volturi had not fought an evenly matched battle in
millennia, and retreated to regroup. So ultimately it was Bella who
caused the defeat of the Volturi....
See, I don't view Bella as all that popular in Forks. She only knows
five students other than the Cullens, and is only invited to one party
during her entire high school career. And really only two guys
seriously want her - Edward and Jacob. Mike is intrigued by a girl
who didn't attend kindergarten with him, but when she says no, he
shrugs his shoulders and asks Jessica out instead. And Tyler is
simply expressing noblesse oblige - he thinks "Poor kid, she's new.
I'll bet no one asks her to the prom. She'll be my good deed for the
year." I never got the sense that he was actually interested in her....
I will agree that she's seriously god-moding when she becomes a
vampire. That's something that bothered me about Breaking Dawn...
To me, Bella's statement to Edward in the first novel, "I don't want
to be Lois Lane; I want to be Superman," sums up what motivates Bella
and is key to understanding the plot of the entire series. That's why
the series couldn't end with Bella marrying Edward. Bella cannot and
will not achieve fulfilment being a wife and mother; she has to become
a superhero to fulfil her destiny.
Feel free to weigh in.
1) The term Mary Sue is not sexist because there is a male term for the same concept: Gary Stu.
2) Superman is not a Gary Stu because he's modeled on Jesus.
3) There are no similarities between Bella and Harry Potter, with the implication that Harry Potter is not a Gary Stu.
4) Bella doesn't actually save anyone.
5) Bella is a Mary Sue because a) she's the most popular girl in school and all the boys want her and b) when she becomes a vampire she's the most powerful vampire of all.
I'm eliminating her words out of respect for her privacy, but wanted to show the other side of the argument before presenting mine (and because I'm too lazy to actually create an essay out of an e-mail exchange):
SPOILERS FOR TWILIGHT SERIES
I've heard of Gary and Marty Stu, but unlike Mary Sue, I've never seen
it applied. While I've seen a great many female characters labeled
Mary Sues, I've never seen a male character actually be called a Gary
Stu....
I agree that there are parallels between Superman and Jesus; that's
why I think he's a Mary (or Gary) Stu. He's the last son of a dying
planet; is more powerful than anyone on Earth, and is a truly perfect
person without flaws in every incarnation I've ever seen with the
exception of "Smallville." And even in Smallville you have the trope
of everyone being in love with him - so he's a more or less flawless
being with powers greater than any other and so desirable few women
don't fall for him; in other words, he possesses the exact same
qualities that would get a female character labeled "Mary Sue." If
Kali-El had been the last daughter of Krypton who was found by
Jonathan and Martha Kent, and had all of Superman's powers and all of
his morals, and as Superwoman accomplished everything Superman did,
and was beloved of intrepid reporter Larry Lane, would the franchise
have been as successful? How would you have felt about that
character? ...
Harry Potter was a social outcast who discovers he's a wizard and now
has all these cool new superpowers, inherits a huge amount of money,
becomes the most popular kid in the school, is naturally the best
Quidditch player ever, is the subject of the most important prophesy
of the age, and all the girls fall in love with him. If you were to
replace Harry with Harriet and change the pronouns, would this
character be considered a Mary Sue?...
Here's where I see her as savior: Book 1 - when Bella exchanges
herself for her mother. Yes, it was the sort of trap that caught
Buffy every other month, but as James pointed out, Bella already knew
that James could grab Renee any time he wanted to, and now he
wouldn't. Book 2 - Bella races to Italy to rescue Edward. It's an
inversion of the hero riding to the rescue of the damsel tied to the
train tracks. Here, Bella is the white hat and Edward is the damsel
in distress. Book 3 - During the duel between Edward and Victoria,
Bella sees that Edward can't win. She cleverly uses her human ability
to bleed, normally seen as a weakness, to keep Victoria from killing
Edward. Book 4 - in the final confrontation with the Volturi. The
Volturi managed to maintain control over the vampires for three
reasons: a) they were seen as just; b) superior numbers; and c) Jane.
The Cullens managed to convince a large number of vampires that the
Volturi behaved unjustly and were able to rally an army equal in
number to that of the Volturi, but the problem of Jane remained.
Bella was not only able to protect the other vampires from Jane, but
being the stronger vampire planned to take Jane out (and to die in the
attempt.) The Volturi had not fought an evenly matched battle in
millennia, and retreated to regroup. So ultimately it was Bella who
caused the defeat of the Volturi....
See, I don't view Bella as all that popular in Forks. She only knows
five students other than the Cullens, and is only invited to one party
during her entire high school career. And really only two guys
seriously want her - Edward and Jacob. Mike is intrigued by a girl
who didn't attend kindergarten with him, but when she says no, he
shrugs his shoulders and asks Jessica out instead. And Tyler is
simply expressing noblesse oblige - he thinks "Poor kid, she's new.
I'll bet no one asks her to the prom. She'll be my good deed for the
year." I never got the sense that he was actually interested in her....
I will agree that she's seriously god-moding when she becomes a
vampire. That's something that bothered me about Breaking Dawn...
To me, Bella's statement to Edward in the first novel, "I don't want
to be Lois Lane; I want to be Superman," sums up what motivates Bella
and is key to understanding the plot of the entire series. That's why
the series couldn't end with Bella marrying Edward. Bella cannot and
will not achieve fulfilment being a wife and mother; she has to become
a superhero to fulfil her destiny.
Feel free to weigh in.